‘Free Beer’ Complaint Sent to Idaho Secretary of State’s Office Regarding Old State Saloon
By Greg Pruett • February 24, 2025Several weeks ago, Idaho Dispatch asked the Idaho Secretary of State’s Office for a list of all campaign finance law complaints it had received during 2024.
Over 100 complaints were sent to the SOS office, but only nine fines were issued. Some of the complaints are still pending resolution.
Idaho Dispatch reviewed all complaints and found the most interesting complaint. (I actually laughed out loud when I read this one.)
The complaint was against the Old State Saloon. Old State Saloon became famous for its “Heterosexual Awesomeness Month” last June, where they offered free beer and discounts to straight men and couples in response to the annual Pride Month celebration.
In the complaint filed by Phaeren Sharette, it states in full,
“Old State Saloon promoted on their Twitter page that they are offering a free beer to anyone on November 6th who voted for Donald Trump.”
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The post in question comes from the X (formerly Twitter) account of Old State Saloon. You can see a picture of the post below:
Idaho Dispatch contacted Old State Saloon owner Mark Fitzpatrick to find out if he was aware of the complaint and if he would like to put out a statement in response. Here is what Fitzpatrick told Idaho Dispatch,
“I am aware people were accusing me of violating some election laws. My quote: “I’ll give a free beer to whomever I please. Liberal Karens won’t stop me. It’s going to be a brutal four years for those people. Unjabbed Singles Night is coming next month. Perhaps I’ll give a free beer to all the unjabbed!”
No specific portion of Idaho code or federal law was cited in the complaint against Old State Saloon. They are not one of the nine fines levied by the SOS office.
The date of the giveaway was the day after the election took place.
Tags: Idaho Code, L5, Mark Fitzpatrick, Old State Saloon, Phaeren Sharette, Secretary of State
